Naruto Shingetsu: Of Chains and Blood
--- Somewhere in the Land of Fire, he slept, breathing in and out rhythmically. Peace was upon him for those agonizingly short hours, but as dawn slowly crept up on him, so did restlessness. He stirred, yawning softly and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. Emerging from his tent, he frowned in disappointment, realizing how early it still was. For the moment, he was alone, the freshness of morning dew and the sound of gently rushing water his only companions. Conscientious as always, he packed up his few belongings swiftly and quietly, boredom settling in. He supposed he could've woken his team up, but he decided against it, knowing that they wouldn't appreciate an earlier wake up call than was necessitated...especially him. Sighing, he figured he would take the opportunity to be productive and get some practice in. Recently, Master Arata had taught them to walk on water using only the precise control of their chakra flow. Naturally, Kumoi had excelled at it the quickest. Of the three of them, while Yoru possessed exceptional chakra control, Kumoi was unquestionably the most skilled at it. It was simply how Kumoi operated, mastering the flow of his chakra and using it to his advantage. Yoru had known Kumoi long enough to understand that that was the underlying, fundamental principle behind all of Kumoi's greatest feats. Part of him was, of course, overwhelmingly proud of his best friend's undeniable talent; the other part of him, however, burned with a competitive fire that pushed him to constantly try and outdo the other boy. They both knew and understood the way they impacted one another, without even having to voice it. Yoru followed the rumbling of the water until he came upon the cascading river, faint beams of light breaking through the trees to dance upon its surface. He couldn't contain himself, and he grinned widely. Something about nature, especially in the coolness of a misty dawn, was peaceful. Yoru eschewed his zori and his jacket, knowing that both would weigh him down and thus make balancing on top of the water more difficult. Barefoot and somewhat chilly, the young Uchiha closed his eyes for a moment, focusing on sending the chakra to the soles of his feet. Inhaling deeply, he stepped out onto the water's surface as he felt the chakra make the skin on his feet tingle, careful not to apply his weight all at once. He managed to successfully stand upon the river, modulating his chakra to accommodate the rushing liquid beneath his feet. Up above, a bird's song rang out, joyful chirping reaching his ears. Usually, he wasn't a morning person, but the beauty that surrounded him was beginning to make him reconsider that. Breathing out, he walked ever so carefully towards the center of the river, focusing intently on maintaining and controlling his chakra flow. So far, so good. ---- A peaceful sleep, interrupted by the sounds of water. Kumoi groaned as he woke, rubbing his eyes. His feet were sore from yesterday's training. He may have had been able to walk on water the fastest, but he had stupidly decided to run across the water to show off. That much chakra eventually does sting. He sat up, running his hand through his brown hair. He gingerly got to his feet, rubbing the back of his neck. It was way too early, Kumoi usually didn't get up until noon. He stumbled out of his tent and noticed him. Yoru Uchiha. Kumoi's closest friend. Someone he could trust with his life. Soon after Kumoi had been able to walk on water, Yoru quickly began to catch up. It happened every time. When one of them was able to do something the other couldn't, the other would soon learn the same thing, simply due to their competitive fire. Kumoi jumped onto the water, sending ripples as he walked towards Yoru. "Morning douche," he began, standing near him. "Why'd you wake me up? You're taking these super small steps, and they keep making this damned noise." ---- The morning's soft quiet, save for the occasional intonations by nature, was very conducive to Yoru's focus. His mind was sharp and clear, and his body was more in tune with his chakra than normal. In this state of concentration, he found that he was not only standing on top of the river's surface with ease, but movement was beginning to feel like second nature, as well. Yoru's confidence rose, and he ran back and forth down the river, cartwheeling, flipping, all without falling beneath the water's surface. Breathing in and out, he wiped some of the sweat off his brow. More. He needed more practice if he was going to catch up to Kumoi... As if on cue, he heard the sound of someone shifting their weight onto the water's surface. Go figure, it was like he and his best friend were so in tune with one another that mere thoughts could summon the other to their side. "Good morning to you, too, asshole." Yoru grinned cheekily at his friend, outstretching his arm to offer Kumoi as a fist bump as he drew closer. "I wasn't trying to wake you up, you know. I was trying to be quiet," he replied, rolling his eyes. "Not my fault you have sonic hearing or something." A mischievous grin suddenly slid onto his face, and he took a few steps back away from Kumoi, his eyes blazing crimson as he shifted into a fighting stance. "What do you say we practice some taijutsu, hm? Really put our ability to balance on the water to the test?" ---- Kumoi fist bumped his friend in return, rolling his eyes as he called him an asshole. "It's not sonic hearing, you're just really loud." he responded, effortlessly jumping over Yoru and landing on water. He turned towards him and saw those eyes. The eyes of the Uchiha, the Sharingan. Kumoi rose a brow at his friends challenge. "Let's fuckin' go," Kumoi began, entering his fighting stance. "Let's see if you're any good on water." ---- Yoru smirked, beckoning at his friend. "Bring it!" He was determined not to make a fool of himself, but he figured that he could balance well enough on top of the water at this point to fight like this. Shifting his weight, he bounced a bit on the balls of his feet, testing his mobility. It was holding up just fine; manipulating his chakra was slowly but surely becoming an afterthought. ---- Kumoi rolled his eyes. "Age before beauty, so you strike first." he teased, acting dramatic. ---- He scoffed playfully. "We both know I'm the prettier one, but whatever." With blinding speed, Yoru lunged at his friend, feinting a jab at Kumoi's face before pivoting on his heel and throwing a vicious roundhouse kick at him instead. ---- Kumoi chuckled. "You wish." he responded. Classic Yoru, this was his usual opening tactic. However, instead of exploiting his attack, Kumoi released the grip of chakra on his feet, sinking down into the water. He popped back out behind Yoru, bringing down a deadly axe kick towards his back. ---- Sure, he may have been using one of his familiar opening tactics, but he used it because it worked; it forced opponents to be honest in their movements, since most of them couldn't overcome his speed and agility. Plus, with his reaction time, it was all too easy to bail out of the kick if necessary. He watched as Kumoi sank into the water, then wheeled around as soon he heard the tell-tale splash of Kumoi's reemergence. With his Sharingan, the Uchiha read Kumoi's movements and reached out suddenly to grab hold of Kumoi's heel, tossing his friend aside. ---- As Yoru tossed him aside, Kumoi smirked. As he flew face first towards the water, Kumoi shot his arms forward and laded on the water with his hands. He flipped to his feet and chuckled. He hopped into the air, stomping his foot down to the water, sending a large wave towards Yoru. As the wave flew forward, Kumoi used it as cover, moving with the rapidly moving waves to disguise his movement. With the wave as a distraction, Kumoi appeared diagonal to Yoru, where his vision would be the weakest and sent a side kick to the knee. ---- With the waves baring down on him, he knew he needed to make a choice: Kumoi, or the water. The wave didn't concern him as much as his friend did, and thus, he kept his eyes on Kumoi as best he could. The kick to the knee caught him regardless, however, but in his falling motion he grabbed onto the front of the other boy's shirt, gripping it relentlessly as the wave swallowed them up. ---- Kumoi shot out the water eventually, spitting out water. He noticed Yoru and mockingly winked at him. "Don't try to pull my shirt off, we're not alone." he teased, trying to make Yoru uncomfortable, although he knew it wouldn't work. Kumoi quickly launched forward, at the same speed Yoru had been at earlier. As he approached Yoru, he began spinning like a drill, aiming towards Yoru's gut. ---- Forcing himself back up to the surface, he pulled himself out of the water to stand atop its surface once again. "I dunno about that," Yoru replied wryly, "I don't see anyone but us here." His eyes pierced through Kumoi's movements, frame by frame, as if he was watching them in slow motion despite his friend's speed. Yoru waited until the last possible second and then jumped, kicking out underneath him as if to use Kumoi as a springboard. Twisting in midair, he landed gracefully on his feet, not losing his balance. ---- Kumoi cursed as Yoru avoided, but he quickly dismissed it. "Man, those eyes of yours are pretty good." he responded, standing. "There's probably a way for me to hit you now, but I'm kinda in a rush." he finished, cracking his knuckles. He entered a horse stance and winked at Yoru before yelling. "Kuroten, times two!" The aura released sent shockwaves outwards, crushing the rocks in the vicinity. "This should be enough." Kumoi said, almost instantly appearing behind Yoru, sending an axe jab with his palm straight at his collarbone. ---- A tiny smirk pulled at the corners of his lips as Kumoi voiced his opinion on the Sharingan. Yes, his clan's eyes really were that good. He was beginning to understand why so many of his fellow Uchiha were so proud of their eyes, even if he himself mostly felt a hushed, fearful respect towards the Sharingan rather than pride. The activation of Kuroten caught Yoru somewhat off-guard. Right as Kumoi's palm made contact with his collarbone, Yoru used the Body Flicker Technique to phase right behind his friend at a distance. Wincing in pain, he nonetheless immediately went to work, throwing kunai and shuriken laced with wire at Kumoi, who was still completing the motion of the jab. ---- Maintaining the momentum from his jab, Kumoi rotated 180 degrees and slammed the kunai and shuriken down, the heat from his palms igniting the wire. As the wires ignited, Kumoi flickered and appeared near the lake, only a few feet away from Yoru. Kumoi stomped his foot on the ground, creating a tremor beneath the lake. As it began to rumble more and more violently, Kumoi launched forward, and went to uppercut Yoru in the jaw. ---- Before the ignited wire could heat all the way up, Yoru dropped and instead threw it around a nearby tree branch, swinging himself out of the way as Kumoi lunged at him. Hm, it was undeniable that Kumoi was fast, but Yoru was as well, and the Sharingan gave him the benefit of being able to visually and thus mentally keep up with a fast-paced battle. "It's over, Kumoi! I have the high ground!" he joked, as a trio of clones appeared behind him. Dropping down from the branch, Yoru landed gracefully upon the water's surface, his clones flanking him. Without wasting time, they each flickered and reappeared towards Kumoi. A pair of clones simultaneously threw a combination gut punch at Kumoi, while the real Yoru used the remaining clone as a spring board, leaping up into the air and attempting to bring his heel down viciously upon Kumoi's head. ---- Kumoi chuckled at his friends joke. "You underestimate my power!" he responded. As the clones came to punch him, Kumoi easily grabbed both of their fists before heating his palms up to defeat the clones. As Yoru went down to bring his foot down on Kumoi, the young boy looked up and created a clone, sending it to counter the attack. Using it as cover, Kumoi avoided the attack and sent a brutal roundhouse towards Yoru's neck. ---- Ugh, typical. Kumoi never made anything easy on him, but he supposed he wouldn't have it any other way. As Kumoi's foot flew towards his head, Yoru regained his footing quickly as his remaining clone engaged Kumoi's clone. With one arm, he blocked the kick from reaching his neck, and he spun his friend around, throwing a swift jab at his nose. ---- Kumoi sighed. "Rule one," Kumoi began, grabbing ahold of Yoru's wrist, using it to push Yoru back. "My face is to beautiful for you to hit it." he joked, before beginning to jump into the air. He forced his clone to explode, causing smoke to fill the area. He then came crashing down, using the height to stomp his foot into the ground and create a massive tremor, which sent many chunks flying towards Yoru. ---- As soon as the smoke began to diffuse throughout the area, Yoru allowed himself to sink to the bottom of the river, holding his breath carefully. Creating another clone, he waited patiently as it went up to the surface. "Oi, nice one. You almost hit me," the clone cracked playfully. Meanwhile, Yoru circled underneath the water's surface, positioning himself right beneath Kumoi. Gathering chakra in his legs, he kicked off from the bottom, shooting out of the water like a pinball, throwing a sharp uppercut at Kumoi's jaw. ---- Kumoi grabbed the incoming strike, using it as a springboard to leap away into a tree. "I'd say the same, but I'd be lying." he teased before sitting down. Suddenly, a large wave of water shot out from the river. It was from the multiple tremors Kumoi had created, disrupting the area beneath the river. And luckily for Kumoi, Yoru had shot out from there to attack him. As the wave only increased in size, Kumoi couldn't help but smirk. Although he remained cautious, sure that the wave wouldn't stop his friend. ----